Do you hear
“Hark! The Voice of Jesus Calling”, Hymn 359 in our lesson study title for this week? Or,
Hymn 287, “Softly and Tenderly”? I heard
Hymn 361, “Hark! Tis the Shepherd’s Voice I Hear”.
Ezra and Nehemiah certainly heard God’s voice calling them.

These prophets were to lead the people, rebuild the sanctuary and walls, teach the people, and guide them:
Hymn 482, “Father, Lead Me Day by Day”,
Hymn 531, “We’ll Build on the Rock”,
Hymn 193, “Savior, Teach Me” and
Hymn 538, “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”.

The prophets spoke to the three kings, who listened: Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes. We hear this in
Hymn 413, “God Has Spoken by His Prophets”.

It is our responsibility (Thursday) to choose to follow God’s calling :
Hymn 623, “I Will Follow Thee”.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Amen!(0)

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Key Thought : The time of Christ’s coming, His anointing by the Holy Spirit, His death, and the giving of the gospel is definitely pointed out in Ezra’s timeline related to Daniel chapter 9.

October 19, 2019

1. Have a volunteer read Daniel 9:24-27

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How did Jesus cause the sacrifices and oblations to cease? Was He “cut off, but not for Himself”?
3. Personal Application: How important is it for you to understand this 70 week prophecy? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “How do we know the starting point of the 62 weeks and 7 weeks (or 483 years) until the Messiah was to come?” How would you respond to your relative?
   (Note: Ezra 7:7-13 gives us the date – the seventh month of the seventh year of Artaxerxes – 457BC. 483 years from that date gives us 27AD. Luke 3:1 tells us Jesus was baptized by John and anointed by the Holy Spirit in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar – 27AD.)

2. Have a volunteer read Daniel 8:14, 26,27 .

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does it mean to “cleanse the sanctuary”?
3. Personal Application: How do you feel about living in the time of the judgment? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “How do you know the 2300 year prophecy had the same starting date as Daniel 9:24-27?” How would you respond to your friend?
   (Note: Daniel’s 70 week prophecy was “determined” – chathak – cut off, amputated from the prophecy already given in Daniel 8. Daniel is told in Chapter 9 to “consider the vision”, the vision was in chapter 8.)

3. Have a volunteer read Romans 8:28,29

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What did God choose for us? What did He call us for?
3. Personal Application: Why should it be encouraging to know that you were predestined for salvation? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “If we are predestined for salvation, then it doesn’t matter what we do, or how we live our lives. God’s going to save us anyway. Predestination means we don’t have any choice in the matter.” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Exodus 4:10-12.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What makes the job of a called leader difficult?
3. Personal Application: Do we make excuses for not doing things we know God has called us to do? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(0)

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In the first lesson of this quarter, we studied how God called Zerubbabel (c. 538 B.C). and Ezra (457 B.C). to special ministries. In the second lesson, we considered God’s call for Nehemiah (444 B.C.). We need to realize that these callings were performed in harmony with God’s foreknowledge. For example, Zerubbabel was moved by God to do a specific task in response to the end of the 70 years of captivity that Jeremiah had prophesied.

In what year was Ezra called to ministry? It was the same year in which King Artaxerxes issued a decree. How is that year significant in prophecy? Look up Daniel 9:24-27.

Artaxerxes

Daniel 9:25 states that “from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” (NKJV). The last week of this prophecy is mentioned in verse 27. Since one week contains seven days, so a prophetic week equals 7 years (Num. 14:34; Ezek. 4:5-6). Therefore, this prophecy talks about 70 weeks, which equal 490 years. The question that must be answered is, What is the starting date of the 70-week prophecy? The text states that it will be from the time that the decree is given to restore and build Jerusalem.

There were a total of three decrees given regarding the restoration of the Jewish people. Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes all gave commands for restorations. However, only the one from Artaxerxes includes concern for the city of Jerusalem itself, and only this decree is associated with praising God for His intervention (Ezra 7:27-28).

We count the beginning of the 70-week prophecy from the year 457 B.C., the seventh year of King Artaxerxes I as mentioned in Ezra 7:7-26. Additionally, because the year 457 B.C. is also the start of the 2,300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14 (see tomorrow’s lesson study), this decree serves as the starting point for these two prophecies. The seventy weeks end with year A.D. 34, which is when the preaching of the gospel was enlarged and also went to the Gentiles (marked by the persecution of the early church and the martyrdom of Stephen). The middle of the last week would be the year A.D. 31, which is when Jesus died on the cross.

Amen!(0)

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Several years ago, I was showing a set of Christian books to a lady. There were several hardbound books in the set, which also included beautiful art work. The lady loved the books, and asked how much they were. I told her, “Four-twenty-nine.” She was delighted, and exclaimed, “Is that all!” I said, “Yes.” I  went on to explain the payment plans, of cash, credit card, or down payment of 15% and then 12 monthly payments. She looked confused, and then disappointed when she realized, that by four-twenty-nine I meant $429.00 and not $4.29.

The lady was like most all of us. We hear what we expect to hear. We read the Old Testament Prophecies that depict Jesus’ sacrifice, like Isaiah 53, and wonder why the Jews did not understand that the Messiah was coming to die for our sin and not set up an earthly kingdom.

The Jews were looking for a Savior from Roman tyranny because they read  prophecies, such as Isaiah 52:13, “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” And also Isaiah 9:7, “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.” They thought Jesus would come and set up an earthly kingdom. Would we have thought differently?

Image © Standard Publishing from GoodSalt.com

Even the disciples misunderstood and heard only what they expected to hear. Jesus told them in Matthew 16 among other places, that He would be crucified, but Peter and the others simply refused to hear of it. The weekend of the crucifixion they were devastated. It was a great disappointment.

There was nothing wrong with the prophecies. The prophets were right on. The Jews, the disciples, the lady I was trying to sell  books to were all just like us. We hear what we expect to hear.

Some scoff at them for not knowing better, but are we any better than they are? Do we not make similar mistakes?

Jeremiah 23:6 promises to save the kingdom of Judah. “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” This led the people to dream of a kingdom prosperous and above all others. However the text also promised righteousness for the people.  It seems the people were not so interested in the righteousness as they were in the prosperity. That is just like us today. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says,” But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Many today are seeking the kingdom and all those other things that will be added to us, but how many of us are seeking His righteousness? How many of us today are taking up our cross daily and following Him? How many of us just want the prosperity? Even if we are seeking a heavenly kingdom above an earthly kingdom, we may still be materialistic, unless we are really seeking His righteousness.

Could we today be like the children of Abraham, dreaming only of prosperity, and forgetting that God once asked father Abraham to sacrifice his son and future prosperity?

When Paul was reasoning with the Jews, showing them that Jesus was the Messiah, he had his work cut out for him. Below is a study on the Messiah, showing the prophecies predicted in the Old Testament, and their fulfillment in the New Testament. Paul probably used some of these Scriptures when he taught the Jews about the Messiah.

At the crucifixion the disciples were devastated and hurting. Jesus  looked past the mistakes of His disciples and saw the pain. On the road to Emmaus, he took pains to demonstrate to them from the Scriptures that His life had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. He probably used some of these Scriptures as well.

Seeing how Jesus met all the Old Testament predictions affirms our faith that He is indeed the Messiah. It also affirms our faith in the Bible.

Greater yet, it affirms our faith that He will come the second time, just as the Bible promised He would come the first time. There are actually twice as many Bible promises about His second coming than there are about His first coming.

Amen!(2)

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